Two Fumbles In a Time Tunnel Separated by 30 Years

By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI

Published: December 21, 2008

This is a tale of two fumbles, one that helped bounce the Giants out of playoff contention 30 years ago, and another last Sunday that kept the Jets' in sight of the postseason.

On Nov. 19, 1978, the Giants were leading the visiting Eagles, 17-12, in the closing seconds. Quarterback Joe Pisarcik needed only to take a knee on a third-down play to run out the clock. Instead, Pisarcik tried a handoff to fullback Larry Csonka. Pisarcik fumbled the ball, and defensive back Herman Edwards picked it up and scampered 26 yards for a touchdown that gave the Eagles a victory and the Giants a black eye that still shines. The Giants fell to 5-7 and missed the playoffs. The Eagles finished that season 9-7 and sneaked into the playoffs.

Last Sunday, the Meadowlands was the site of another ill-fated fumble, only this one benefited the home team, the Jets. Trying to protect a 27-24 lead in the final two minutes, Buffalo chose to pass rather than run, a move that backfired when quarterback J. P. Losman was stripped of the ball by safety Abram Elam. The ball squirted free, and defensive end Shaun Ellis scooped it up and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown, keeping the Jets in first place, an eyelash above their American Football Conference East rivals Miami and New England.

''The end of that Jets-Bills game reminded me a lot of our game against the Giants,'' said Dick Vermeil, the coach of the Eagles who watched from the sideline in stunned amazement as Pisarcik became a villain and Edwards a hero. The play is still known to Giants fan as the Fumble and to Eagles fans as the Miracle at the Meadowlands.

''A dramatic and unexpected play like that, which turns around an important game, can really get a team's confidence up and its adrenaline flowing to the point where there's an even greater push to make the playoffs,'' said Vermeil, who coached the St. Louis Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV and is now retired and living in Chester County, Pa. ''Suddenly, practices are better, everyone's focus is better, the overall tempo is up and the trainer's room is empty because every single guy wants to be out on that football field contributing.''

Edwards, now the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, said, ''If the Jets make the playoffs and make some noise, their game against Buffalo will take on greater significance for them as history looks back on it.''

Looking back on his own bit of history, Edwards said he felt sorry for Pisarcik, who later became an Eagles teammate. Pisarcik, like Csonka, no longer answers questions about the play.

''Joe Pisarcik is a good man,'' Edwards said. ''It's really unfair that he's remembered for this one play because Joe was a solid quarterback and a good guy. I know we'll always be linked by that play, and right or wrong, a lot of people's most vivid memory of my playing career was that one play.''

Edwards recalled the initial greeting that Pisarcik received when he joined the Eagles in 1980. They made it to the Super Bowl that season, losing to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10.

''The first day Joe walked into the locker room, Bill Bergey grabbed a football, rolled it on the floor and said, 'Let's play it again, Joe.' It was a really great icebreaker. Joe handled it like a pro, and it really endeared him to our team. We were together for four or five years with the Eagles, and I gained a lot of respect for him. He was a member of our Super Bowl team.

''It was just one of those plays that people will always remember, but Joe should be remembered for far more than one play in one game 30 years ago.''

As far as Ellis's play against the Bills last Sunday, Vermeil said it would ''stimulate the Jets.''

He added: ''If they make the playoffs, that one fumble return will have had a lot to do with it. I'm speaking here from experience.''

PHOTO: The Eagles' Herman Edwards getting ready to grab Joe Pisarcik's shocking fumble and return it for a touchdown that beat the Giants in 1978. Edwards said Shaun Ellis's fumble return for the winning score last Sunday could become a big moment in Jets history. (PHOTOGRAPH BY G. PAUL BURNETT/ASSOCIATED PRESS)